Closure for vessels.



No. 800,673. PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905.

F. G. B. PAGE.

CLOSURE FOR VESSELS.

APPLICATION TILED JAN. 27 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR:

WITNESSES: UM Q 6 0, 1 B Allanzeys, Ll 725mb No. 800,673. PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905.

F. C(B. PAGE. CLOSURE FOR VESSE-LS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.27,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lNVENTOR I WITNESSES: fikifi w //32w [:jy Ara/171 1 :plying. adapted for preserve-jars and the like the 1 contents of which are to be used little by little. According to my previous patents a cover is UNITED STATES PATENT onnion.

FRANK O. B. PAGE, OF NElV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO Alli .l.l.(.-,rl:ll CLO- SURE COMPANY, OF NE YORK, N. Y., A CORPORA'TION OF NEW YORK.

CLOSURE FOR VESSELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1 905.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, FRANK G. B. PAGE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the herough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closures for Vessels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention aims to provide an improved closure for vessels-such as cans, bottles, jars, or the like-which can be readily applied, which affords a secure closure, and which is easily opened. Patents have been granted to me for closures of the same general type. The present invention is an improvement over those, especially in the matter of cheapness,

both as to cost of material and labor of ap- This type of closure is especially provided for such jars which is formed with a downwardly-turned circumferential flange, which cover fits loosely upon the mouth of This cover was of sheet metal and Was held down upon the vessel by means of a circumferential band of sheet metal crimped at its edges over the cover and under a shoulder on the neck of the vessel. A disk of packing material-such as cork, paper, or the likewas interposed between the cover and the mouth of the vessel, the function of this disk being to prevent the contents from coming into contact with the sheet metal, corroding the same, and giving the contents a bad taste, and also in certain cases to make an impervious and leak-tight closure.

According to the preferred form of my present invention the cover with the downwardly-turned circumferential flange, which is an essential feature of a closure which is to be commercially successful for preserve-jars and the like, is formed of pastehoard or other suitable packing material adapted to form a tight closure and preferably treated to render it impervious. This cover is designed to lit loosely upon the vessel, so as to form a sufficiently tight closure for temporary purposes while the contents are being consumed, as explained above, and is held down upon the top of the vessel by a circumferential band of sheet metal, the upper edge of which bears directly upon the pasteboard cover. Thus the same tight joint for use during the shipping or storing of the vessel is provided as in the former constructions and the same convenient cover for temporary use during consumption of the contents, and the sheet metal which formerly extended over the top of the vessel is eliminated. 1 thus save not only the cost of this sheet metal, but also the costeof cutting the pasteboard disks or linings for the sheet-metal cover and the labor of litting them in the sheet-metal cover before applying the latter to the vessel. Another advantage of the present closure arises in the decorating of the cover. It is practically universal to decorate the covers of preservejars and the like, generally in colors, and the application of such decorations to the tin covers formerly used costs nearly as much as the covers themselves, the process involving lacquering and rather slow printing. With the flanged covers made of pasteboard the decoration can be done in better style and at a very trifling cost indeed. The cost of printing the decorations on pasteboard is from one-fifth to one-tenth that of printing them on tin. Various other advantages are referred to in detail hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate certain embodiments of the invent-ion.

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the closure applied to a sheetmetal vessel. Fig. 2 is asimilar view showing the manner of applying the closure and showinga glass vessel. Figs. 3 and 4. are similar views showing different embodiments of the invention. Figs 5 to 7 are sections, and Fig. 8 an elevation, of a band before application.

A is a vessel of sheet metal having an external head or shoulder 13 near its mouth. Extending over the mouth of the vessel is a cover C of any suitable impervious packing material, such as tough pasteboard treated to render it lll'lDGl'ilOllS. The cover C has a downwardly-turned circm'nferential flange 1) fitting over the mouth of the vessel, so that after the vessel has been unsealed it may serve as a convenient temporary loose cover. The cover is held down by a circumferential band (designated as a whole by the letter E) which is held down in any suitable manner, as by a lower flange F bent inward under the shoulder 13 of the vessel. The upper edge of the band is bent inward to form a liange G,

the band E may be weakened by cutting away all except a narrow strip H, which is bowed out to form an eye through which may be passed any suitable tool J, which serves as a lever for breaking the weakened portion H and permitting the opening of the band.

The preferred method of applying the band is indicated in Fig. 2. The upper flange G is first formed, and the cover 0 and the band are then placed on the vessel. A plunger K is pressed down with suflicient force to make a tight joint between the vessel and the cover, and while the parts are held in this position a crimping-roller L travels around the vessel and crimps inward the lower edge of the band to form the flange Fof Fig. 1, engaging the shoulder of the vessel firmly, so that when the plunger K is removed the band and cover are still held pressed tightly down upon the vessel. The vessel in this case is shown as a glass jar or bottle A, having an integrallymolded rib or shoulder B adjacent to its mouth.

It is not essential to the broad invention that the band shall be capable of transverse separation in order to release the cover. Bands which are removable in other ways are known and may also he used in connection with the cover of packing material.

I propose also to stiffen the upper edge of the hand. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, the upper edge of the band may be rolled under to form a deep stifl edge M. This edge receives the pressure of the plunger in applying the closure and transmits it in substantially a narrow circumferential line to the cover C, so as to effect a more reliable joint. Furthermore, it causes the band to project upward a considerable distance above the cover of packing material, and thus protects the latter to a great extent from being accidentally struck and injured in handling.

The retaining-band may be made continuous either by drawing it in a seamless circumferential form, or it may be formed of a long flat strip with its ends united, as by soldering or by an ordinary locking-seam, or the ends of the band may be brought together by a separable conneetion such, for example, as the well-known connection illustrated in Fig. 4:. Here the band E is formed of a long ti at strip, one end of which has a small tongue N struck up therefrom which passes through a suitable aperture in the opposite end, the latter end being also provided with a long tongue 0.

After the band has been applied the mere lifting of the tongue O and bending it back bends back also the shorter tongue N and transversely separates the two ends of the band. I have, however, designed a special band which is of particular value in closures of this type and the construction of which 1 have illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8. In these figures the plain fiat band is shown before the formation of the upper and lower flanges. This band E is formed of a long flat strip with its ends united by a dovetail connection, (indicated as a whole by the letter P.) One end (preferably the inside end, as shown) is formed into an offset tongue with undercut edges, and the other end is provided with a similarly-shaped groove litting the undercut edges of the tongue. The tongue Q, is offset sufliciently to leave at both sides a groove which will accommodate a double thickness of the metal forming the groove R, as shown. The outer end of the strip is extended beyond the grooved portion to provide a flap S, which flap normally lies iiat against the band. The end of this flap can be pried out with the thumb-nail,

(the metal being quite soft,) and the flap can then be pulled in the manner indicated in Fig.

7, so as to free the bent-in portion T of the band from the groove in the edge of the tongue 5 Q. A little further pull will obviously sepaj rate the two ends of the band entirely. The edges of the band are preferably cut away between the two lines X and Y of Fig. 6, so as V to avoid having to bend the six folds of metal in forming the top and bottom flanges.

The improved dovetail joint has a great ad- 1 vantage over previous joints in that it holds the two ends of the band against relative movement in either direction, and thus pre- 2 serves the continuity of the band during the handling of the same. At the same time the amount of lap at one side of the tongue may be made much less than in the ordinary lockseam or similar construction, and the smallness of the lap facilitates the pulling out of the flap S. Therefore the fastening is more secure than most fastenings during the handling of the band before applying it, is quite as secure as others when applied, (by reason of the doubling of the lock,) and is more easily broken. The edge of this band may of course be rolled, as illustrated in Fig. 3, or the band may be formed with a plain flange, such as G in Fig. l--that is to say, the feature of the beaded edge M. and the dovetail seam P may be used either separately or in combination with each other.

My improved closure not only saves the metal ordinarily extended across the top of the vessel, but by eliminating the metal from between the retaining-band and the packing material insures that the pressure shall be in a sharp circumferential line upon the packing material instead of being distributed by the intern'icdiation of metal between the edge of ",he retaining-band and the packing material. lhis advantage will be especially obvious with Jl'lG beaded edge shown in Fig. 3, but is also present to a considerable extent in the plainzdged bands of the other figures. The cover, LS far as protection of the material contained .n the vessel is concerned, is quite as eflicient LS a tin cover with a lining of the same packng material and is in a protected position, .vhere it is not liable to injury. It may of :ourse be made of any suitable material which s impervious and sufliciently yielding to form I. tight joint when pressed down upon the nouth of the vessel.

Though Ihave described Withgreat particuarity of detail certain embodiments of the inention, yet it is not to be understood that .he invention is limited to the specific em- )odiments disclosed.

Various modifications thereof in detail and n the arrangement and combination of the )arts may be made by those skilled in the art vithout departure from the invention.

What I claim is 1. The combination of a vessel, a cover thereor, and a circumferential band of sheet metal having its upper edge stitl'ened and-having its upper edge bent inward to form a flange overlying said cover, said band being connected with the body of the vessel to hold the cover thereon.

2. A continuous circumferential band of sheet metal for holding a cover on a vessel, said band having its upper edge stiffened and being transversely breakable to release the cover.

3. A continuous circumferential band of sheet metal for holding a cover on a vessel, the ends of said band being united by a tongue on one end undercut at both sides, and by a groove in the other end overlying said tongue and locked under both sides thereof, one end being extended beyond the joint to provide a flap which can be pulled out to separate the ends.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

FRANK C. B. PAGE. Witnesses:

DOMINGO A. USINA, THEODORE T. SNELL. 

